On Tuesday evening, just after the national holiday, The Dragon Boat Festival, while students were still returning to campus, after a storm had blown down all our event posters, in a muggy atmosphere and under a steady rain, with half the student population missing from campus, the "English Club" held an event. During this event Connie read from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, as I painted a picture of Aslan.Despite the drawbacks and unforeseen problems with weather and unpredictable influences, the meeting was a success. A solid group of students showed up - fifty to seventy-five or so, and they stayed until the event was over. Here are a few pictures of that evening.
The painting was donated to the new Student Center being build by the TESOL team and the University in Nanchang. The Center is the result of many years of relationship-building and dedicated service; and it will be awesome. The Center is a first for both the university and the TESOL program on campus. It is a joy to Connie and me that this painting will be placed in the Center as a token of our participation with all our new friends in China.
* The ideas for the image of the Lion are a compilation from numerous sources; photographs and other works of art, as well as my own twist on the idea of Aslan. I tried to depict a younger lion, because Aslan tells Lucy, in Prince Caspian, that he will appear larger as she grows. This Aslan is younger, for the young at heart.
Connie reads expressively from The Chronicles, and students are intrigued by the story. I wondered whether the concepts and the language would translate well from the writings of an Oxford Don, through the American accent of a Seattle university professor, and into the understanding of students who have a completely different culture. Amazingly, most of it did. This was, as much as anything, an experiment in cross-cultural communication, and it worked quite well.
After the event, students asked questions, offered insights from their own culture, and expressed sincere and enthusiastic appreciation for the event. Here, two students ask to have their picture taken with the "artist." As happens every time when I paint in public, others who desire to become artists come forward and say they have been inspired to get busy with their own forms of creative expression. Of course, I encourage them to do so straight-away!
Here are some of those students asking questions about my paints, the techniques I use, the reason why Connie and I put on such programs, and they offer all sorts of interesting observations and considerations for me in the future.
Paintings begun in such short events are not much more than color sketches, which I then take home and refine. This painting of Aslan took about three or four hours after the event to complete. Painting is really a lot of fun, but to get a satisfactory finished result, it takes a lot more time than can be afforded in such short public meetings.
Students asked Connie questions about her reading, and about the story of Narnia and Aslan. This girl is asking, "What happens to the witch?!" Connie takes a bit more time to explain how Aslan deals with the witch, and the students are please that evil is vanquished from Narnia. I encouraged the students to read the complete story for themselves, and to read it to their own children in the future. They laughed, thinking about the day when they will have children of their own.
After the event, a girl came forward and showed Connie her own copy of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. We were both surprised. Evidently, because of the Narnia movies, students are aware of, and interested in these stories. Looks like we caught these students when their interest had already been piqued.
The building in this picture is a hotel, on campus, where Connie and I stayed for the eight days we were in Nanchang. It was nice. One of the items new to us was a coil of incense to light and place outside one's door in the hall, to keep the mosquitoes away. So, the halls were filled with wafting smoke from these incense burners. That gave me no small sinus problem. We never lit ours. I think that would have done me in. However, the fragrance wasn't too bad; sandalwood, Anyone who lived through the sixties will remember it because all the coolest and most hip boutiques and head-shops burned that stuff constantly. Who knew it had a practical application?
Students work with Connie in a writing class. We both taught a number of classes in addition to the special events we conducted on these campuses. They kept us busy, that's for sure.
The young men on the ends are teachers from Alabama, who came to Nanchang to teach in the TESOL program. Yes, they are twins. This summer they return to the U.S. to complete their masters degrees. There is an opening in the TESOL program for English teachers, if you care to go over. Let me know and I'll put you in contact with the directors. They will consider both short term and long term teachers. If you want to do an internship teaching English to Chinese students, this university is a good one. They will even pay you a salary and benefits for your work. If you're interested, let us know. We'll hook you up.
By the way, the painting in the background was done by me in a class on audio-visual communication. Students had the arduous task of listening to contemporary music while they watched me paint this sunflower. Then we discussed all sorts of issues with using unusual creative devices for communication. Students really want to engage a variety of audio-visual methodologies.
During this week, we were well taken care of by four interns. These are but two of them.
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These architectural students invited us to come see their art show. It was so well done. Each of these students had spent two years learning to draw and paint in a European style, so they could depict the buildings they had drawn.
They had prepared to go to traditional villages to draw and paint what was being lost in Chinese culture; the older architecture.
Thirty students went across China for fifteen weeks - a full semester - and lived and painted in these villages. Their works were keen observations of a key component of traditional Chinese culture. I was glad they had done this because China is quickly removing much of this traditional architecture. It is replacing the traditional with the modern, and by doing so, much of the old world will be torn down. From my own perspective, this is a pity, and some Chinese architects, university professors and students also share this view, hence this art show.
Connie and I spent a couple hours, looking at the show, asking questions about these villages, and interviewing the students about their experiences of doing this kind of art on location. This was an enriching experience and gave us insight into some of the massive changes taking place in China today.
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These are just a few of the many students we addressed on our tour of China. The top picture is from one of my communication and culture classes, and final one is from one of Connie's writing classes. I am quite visible, but Connie is in the back row, hiding from the camera. Can you pick her out? In all of these classes, students were very responsive and inquisitive. I can't remember when I have seen so many smiles in one place. They were a true delight to teach.
(To see the art of Daniel Rice, visit http://www.danielriceart.net)
